It was an overcast weekend and there was a definite chill in the air. Andrew and I were hosting a dinner party and it needed to start with some soul-warming soup.

At the farmers’ market we found some lovely organic carrots which would be the base for the soup. Also, fragrant coriander was in abundance. This soup needed some spice so we returned to Andrew’s home to raid the pantry in search of flavours.

We combined the ingredients, cooked the soup but found it a little too thin in flavour. It needed something to lift it. We poured a little into a bowl and pondered. Finally — in a eureka moment — we both said “orange juice”. We tried it and it was great. I love moments like these.

Ready

• 1 large red onion, sliced
• About 10 large carrots (sliced)
• Chicken stock (optional)
• Fresh orange juice
• 1 tsp curry powder
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp tumeric
• Salt and pepper
• Butter (or clarified butter)
• Olive oil
• Coriander

Set

• Large soup pan
• Blender

Go

1. Heat a knob of butter and add the onions and spices. Sweat the onions for around 5 minutes or so until they are beautifully soft (not burned).
2. Add the carrots and stir into the onions.
3. Pour enough chicken stock and water (about half and half) to cover the carrots.
4. Place a lid on the pan and simmer for about 30 minutes.
5. Season the soup and blend into a puree.
6. Add fresh orange juice. Start with ½ cup and keep going until it tastes just right to you. Careful though, the orange should be a subtle flavour that you can’t really identify (unless, of course, you want it orangey).
7. Serve with a generous sprinkling of loosely chopped coriander and a drizzle of good olive oil.